Editing 1285: Third Way

{{comic
| number    = 1285
| date      = November 1, 2013
| title     = Third Way
| image     = third way.png
| titletext = 'The monospaced-typewriter-font story is a COMPLETE FABRICATION!&nbsp; WAKE UP, SHEEPLE' 'It doesn't matter! Studies support single spaces!' 'Those results weren't statistically significant!' 'Fine, you win. I'm using double spaces right now!' 'Are not!&nbsp; We can all hear your stupid whitespace.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the debate occurring in the United States about the correct {{w|Sentence spacing|number of space characters after a period at the end of a sentence}}.

While typewriter typists in the United States were traditionally taught to use two spaces between sentences, this is becoming less common and many sources now recommend having only one space, although this topic is still {{w|Sentence spacing#Controversy|controversial}}.

[[Cueball]] is advocating a line break after every sentence, the mysterious "third way". 

This obviates the problem, as a period will always appear at the end of a line and the spacing after it becomes moot. 

A line break after every sentence is sometimes called "[http://rhodesmill.org/brandon/2012/one-sentence-per-line/ semantic linefeeds]".

This is particularly useful when plain text files based on a markup language (such as {{w|HTML}}, {{w|TeX}}, or {{w|Wiki markup}}) are edited by multiple people using a {{w|Revision control|version control system}} where it helps to facilitate comparison of changes and avoid merge conflicts.

In most markup languages, a single line feed in the source is rendered as a simple space, while two linefeeds generate a paragraph break.

This approach allows the source to be easily manipulated and versioned, while the rendered output still keeps the regular flow and justification abilities of running text.

(Incidentally, HTML and languages derived from it such as {{w|BBCode}} and {{w|Wiki markup}} will generally render multiple consecutive whitespace characters as a single space, so pretty much every page on the Internet uses single spacing whether the author wants to or not.)

The title text uses single spaces between the back-and-forth quotations; but within each quotation, the quoted speaker's preferred spacing is used; when the single-spacing advocate claims to be using double spacing, this is indeed a lie.

However, realistically, it is implausible that one can hear whitespace.{{Citation needed}}

Randall's mocking characterization in the title text of overzealous advocates using the phrase "WAKE UP, SHEEPLE" has appeared in previous comics: [[496: Secretary: Part 3]] and [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple]].

Note that this is not the first time Randall has [[:Category:Compromise|proposed a controversial third way]], and this debate is later referenced in [[1989: IMHO]].

Sentence spacing was previously mentioned in the title text of [[1070: Words for Small Sets]].

==Transcript==
:[Two groups stand, with placards and weapons, angrily facing off against each other.]
:[The first group, with a cutlass, has a sign reading "'''TWO''' spaces after a period". The second group, with a spear, has a sign reading "'''ONE''' space after a period."]
:[Off to one side stands Cueball, alone, with a placard reading "Line break after every sentence."]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sheeple]]
[[Category:Compromise]]
[[Category:Language]]